Preparing for Interview

Exercises
Career Skills

Team FME
www.free-management-ebooks.com
ISBN 978-1-62620-780-2
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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

Table of Contents

Preface 2
Visit Our Website 3
Introduction 4
Management Exercises 6
In-Tray or In-Basket Exercise 8
Role Play Exercise 16
Group Exercises 21
Presentation Exercises 26
Enthusiasm for the Role 26
Organizational/Strategic Interpretation 27
Handling the Media Exercise 30
Summary 33
Other Free Resources 35
References 36

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

Preface
This eBook describes various interview exercises including: in-tray, presentations, group
discussion, role play, and media interviews. These exercises form part of the job selection
process and are designed to assess factors such as your interpersonal skills, attitudes,
and compatibility with the organizations culture.

You will learn:

How and why organizations incorporate practical exercises into their management
selection processes.
How to approach an in-tray exercise and what the assessors are looking for.
Why you need to fully buy in to the role play exercise even if it does not seem
very realistic.
What the assessors are really looking for in the group exercise.
Why you need an efficient method for preparing presentations that leaves you
with enough time to demonstrate that you can add value beyond the employers
expectations.

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

Visit Our Website

More free management eBooks (FME) along with a series of essential templates and
checklists for managers are all available to download free of charge to your computer,
iPad, or Amazon Kindle.

The FME online library offers you over 100 free resources for your own professional
development. Our eBooks, Checklists, and Templates are designed to help you with the
management issues you face every day.

We are adding new titles every month, so dont forget to check our website regularly for
the latest releases.

Visit http://www.free-management-ebooks.com

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

Introduction
Many organizations incorporate practical exercises into their management selection
process. These enable potential employers to see how you behave when you are asked
to perform some of the tasks required by the role in various situations. They are designed
to show:

How you approach a scenario

How you react to problems
How you relate to others

MANAGEMENT EXERCISES YOU

EXERCISES SHOW PORTRAY

Desired competencies
What you
can do
Enable At correct level
employers to
see In set situations
How you
behave
Towards others

Whether you are seeking a position in a commercial, nonprofit, or educational organization

the successful candidate will be able to show:

The desired role competencies

At the level appropriate to the role
In their actions and words

Your success in these exercises will depend on your ability to display the right behaviors
and use language that reflects the ethos of the organization.

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

The development of your competencies is a continuous process and taking the time
to regularly check how they compare to your desired role is paramount if you want to
succeed. This comparison of how well your current competencies match those required
in the role should be an essential part of your preparation for an interview or internal
promotion.

It is important to keep your mind focused on the fact that each exercise you perform
is designed to determine how well you demonstrate the required competencies of that
specific role. This often means being able to act appropriately at the next level up from
your current management level.

This eBook describes how competencies and their associated behaviors relate to the
management exercises used in selection. If you would like more in-depth information
on what competencies are and how they are measured then download our free eBook
Developing Competencies.

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

Management Exercises
The most common management exercises can be grouped under the following five
headings and are recognized as the most effective for assessing competencies and their
associated behaviors. (Our free Management Competency Framework template defines
twelve competencies and their associated management behaviors.)

Group
Exercises

Media
Presentations
Management Interview
Exercises
include

In-tray Role Play

In-Tray (can include a justification element)

Role Play
Group Exercises:
Critical Incident
Organizational Issue
Problem Solving and Simulation
Written Output
Media Interview
Presentations:
Flip-chart
Group Exercise
Impromptu

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

Prepared
Verbal Career

Frequently you will encounter an exercise that combines several of these elements into
one. For example, a critical incident may incorporate a media interview. Many exercises
use real-life scenarios that are designed to test an individuals ability to adjust to the
different situations that they are likely to encounter in the role.

to show
Interview that you have
exercises give you the required
the chance competencies

These exercises will be your only opportunity to show a prospective employer that you
are able to behave appropriately in the role.

Prior to each exercise, you will be given instructions describing the exercise, your role,
timeframes, equipment, etc. You will not be told in detail about the individual indicators
that will be measured. During each exercise, a group of observers will rate you on a range
of set indicators, using a prescribed performance scale.

Results are then cross-compared against the same indicators, which are measured in
other exercises. Following exercise completion, observers meet to discuss the test results
and reach a group consensus about your ratings.

Key Points
44 Interview exercises allow potential employers to see how you behave when
performing some of the tasks required by the role.
44 Your success will depend on your ability to display behaviors that reflect the
competencies required by the organization.
44 If the job represents a promotion then you may need to show competencies
at the next level up from your current level.

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

In-Tray or In-Basket Exercise

In this exercise you will be asked to assume a particular role as an employee of a fictitious
organization and to work through a pile of correspondence in your in-tray. The in-tray
exercise items will be specifically designed to measure job skills such as: ability to
organize and prioritize work; analytical skills; communication with team members and
customers; written communication skills; and delegation.

The in-tray exercise is popular because it has considerable face validity. In other words,
candidates can see how it relates to the job they are applying for and therefore they tend
to take it seriously.

If you have not practiced an in-tray exercise before it is very easy to be overwhelmed by
the amount of material you are expected to work through in the time available. At the
very least you should practice working through items and classifying them according to
their urgency and importance. You will invariably find that there are one or two major
issues hidden among the in-tray items and if you miss these you will struggle to remain
a credible candidate. This exercise consists of two parts:

Firstly, reading and assimilating all the information contained in the in-tray
items.
Secondly, answering questions that will judge how well you would perform
the role and react to the situations presented.

The format varies according to the type of role but generally you will have between 1235
items to read through and then answer 1530 multiple-choice questions. The more senior
the role the more complex the issues; in some instances a short written explanation or a
verbal explanation of your choices may be required.

Common In-tray Scenarios

You suddenly find

First day in new yourself in charge Due to a family
role & your boss of a critical crisis your boss
asks you to stand project because has left you in
in for them your boss has charge
been called away

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

The circumstances you are asked to handle will most likely be some sort of emergency
or crisis as these situations are best for showing how an individual manager deals with
stress and uncertainty.

The more familiar you are with the type of questions you will be asked as part of an in-
tray exercise the easier you will find it to display the required behaviors. It is important
that you are able to demonstrate that you can:

Easily identify the Key issue of each item

Interpret and evaluate the information accurately
Quickly arrive at a decision
Explain how your action/decision deals with the problem

Dont make the mistake of worrying about the topic. You will be judged on how well you
can handle complex information, determine priorities, make decisions within time limits,
display sensitivity to potential problems, and communicate clearly. Try to imagine that
you are at work doing the described duties, rather than just completing an exercise, but
make sure that the reasons for your actions are clear and documented.

The type of issues you will be asked to review and action will reflect the nature of the role
you have applied for. This does not necessarily mean that the scenario will be based on
your industry or sector, but it does mean that if you are applying for a strategic role then
it is likely that you can expect a significant number of your in-tray items will be designed
to test your strategic decision making; whereas if you are hoping for a management role,
the in-tray items are more likely to raise issues about team building, coaching, motivation,
and other management issues.

Before you begin the in-tray exercise you will be handed several items that are numbered
or lettered for easy referencethese will provide you with all of the information you need
to complete the exercise. Do not make any assumptions and only use the information
provided to arrive at your decisions. If you know that you are going to be given the
opportunity to justify your answers, then you may be able to take a few more risks in the
decision-making process. However, if you are not going to be given the opportunity to
justify your decisions then you should choose the most obviously correct answer.

Be wary of falling into the trap of making a decision or selecting an answer that you
would normally want more detailed information about before making. If it is appropriate

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

for the nature of the questionyour answer could be None of the above, or Id want to
delay my decision until I had more information.

When you are working through the items in an in-tray exercise always try to be as logical
and systematic as possible in the way that you work. The information may be presented
in a haphazard way, but you dont want to be seen to work in a haphazard way. Be mindful
of how your desk or working area looks during and at the end of the exercise. Always try
to present an organized appearance and try and avoid looking as if you are in chaos.
Using Post-it notes to identify items and clearly annotating items will greatly enhance
your efficiency and help you to keep things under control.

Firstly, you should scan through each of the in-tray exercise items quickly and sort them
into chronological order. At the same time, look out for items that are interdependent
or items which make a previous item redundant. This is an important step as you dont
want to waste time with items which have been superseded and which dont need to be
actioned. Also, you may think you have quickly solved one problem only to find that a
memo sent three days later has added a further complication, which makes your original
decision unworkable or impractical.

For example, you may want to put items into three piles using a Post-it to identify each
oneUrgent, Important, and Routine. For each of these piles you may then segregate
them further by who is to deal with themMyself, Delegate (Name), and File, or it could
be based on a timeframeNext Hour, Today, Tomorrow, and Later. If you are using a
timeframe as a method of prioritizing then you may wish to use the calendar provided or
create your own to make notes on so that you can easily see an overview of the situation.

Use your highlighter to identify key information you have been given:

Who you are,

Your function,
Type of organization (government, industrial, or nonprofit),
Recipient and how they relate to you,
Date on the item in relation to todays date
Dates of meetings and deadlines.

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

Sometimes details contained in your role overview may consciously try to limit your
ability to respond so that the interviewers can assess how you deal with such a situation.

There are eight behaviors you need to demonstrate whilst you perform this exercise
and as you consider each one you will be able to ascertain any areas that need further
development for the role.

In-tray Exercise
allows you to Time
Planning Management
demonstrate:

Evaluation of
Decision Making Prioritization situations

Speed &
accuracy Analysis of data Leadership

Looking at how each of these behaviors is tested in the in-tray or in-basket exercise allows
you to judge whether your current performance is at the correct level for the position.

Decision-makingyour ability to make well thought-out decisions is paramount

to your success. This exercise looks at your ingenuity when resolving problems
and making decisions. It assesses what use you made of any other resources that
you had at your disposal in the scenario.

It also tests your commercial insight by examining how well your decisions match
the organizations culture and needs created by the scenario. Your answers will
also indicate how well your management style reflects that of the organization.
For example,

A question asks what you would do with a paper copy of an email detailing an
old suppliers terms and conditions. Selecting Discard as your answer may
be appropriate if you are working in an operational role in manufacturing
company, but filing it would be more appropriate if you were in the purchasing
department where it is essential such data is held for a fixed period in case of
a contractual dispute.

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

deliberate
errors
diary clashes
In-Tray Exercise contradictions
missed
communication
requires you
to identify

Speed and AccuracyIn the type of situations usually used for this exercise
where you suddenly have to accept anothers workload you need to demonstrate
that you can work through the items quickly and efficiently.

This judges your ability to work under unexpected stress and maintain high levels
of accuracy at the same time.

By practicing and becoming familiar with the type of errors frequently used as
part of an in-tray exercise (e.g. diary clashes, contradictions, errors, and missed
communications) your behavior will demonstrate your ability to take on the
unknown.

Analysis of Datayou will be given several different items that detail the
circumstances you are presented with as part of this exercise.

In-tray items for Analysis

Role description

Organizational Chart

Situation overview

In-basket items

Diary details

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

You will be judged on your ability to recognize the potential areas of conflict and
get to the root of any problem by collating and analyzing details from several in-
tray items.

If you are tempted to scan some items rather than read them carefully then you
will run the risk of missing something important.

Prioritizationis a fundamental part of the decision-making process and the

in-tray exercise usually includes several items that are designed to divert your
time and effort away from the more important items. You will have to make a
value judgment as to whether the task is appropriate for delegation. It is key that
you also take account of the organizational goals along with each items level of
importance and urgency.

Your answers need to show an appreciation of any external factors and internal
resources that impact the priority you assign each item and action. Finally, the
priorities you assign must reflect those someone in the role would make and this
may be a level up from where you are currently.

Planninghow well you use the resources at your disposal including the skills of
your team to ensure that all commitments are kept and met in a timely fashion. It
also tests your ability to alter your plan to incorporate additional responsibilities.

Your planning skills are reflected in how you answer the questions. You need to
show that you have grasped the key issues raised and can develop strategies to
accommodate the additional workload.

Time managementit is vital that you are able to show that you can use the time
you are given effectively in a structured and productive manner. Make sure you
spend the majority of your time on the most important items.

Evaluation of situationsbeing able to judge the implication of items accurately

is essential. This exercise provides the perfect opportunity to demonstrate your
ability to analyze the pertinent data from each in-tray item so that you can make
sound decisions that suit the circumstances and organization.

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

Even though the situations you are presented with might be unrealistic, you need
to take them seriously. Remember you are being assessed on how well you show
the required behaviors of the role and this is always easier if you buy in to the
exercise as much as possible.

Leadershipit is essential that you combine different styles of leadership

throughout the exercise. The issues you are presented with will sometimes require
you to be people-orientated and at other times to focus on resolving the situation.

Transactional Transformational
Leadership Leadership

Situational Leadership
Leadership Continuum

Your success in exhibiting this behavior during the exercise depends on the
knowledge you have garnered from your research into the organization. The more
in depth your research the more easily you will respond in a way that reflects the
organizations culture.

In certain circumstances and for particular senior roles the in-tray exercise concludes
with a justification discussion. During this discussion remember you are still performing
the role assigned to you as part of the exercise. Your answers need to be concise and
make your point succinctly as you will only have a few minutes to respond. If the exercise
does not include a justification then make sure your notes are readable (maybe print in
capitals) by anyone so they can see your reasoning.

Frequently there is a central theme to the in-tray exercise items. This could be an impending
takeover, potential merger, management buy-out, re-organization with redundancies, or

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

poor financial performance. Whilst you are reading through the overview and the items
provided be mindful of this re-occurring theme. You will not be expected to have specific
market or product knowledge, although being up to date on current industry issues may be
useful. Its important to focus on how you deal with issues, how you manage the information,
and what actions you subsequently take, as this is what you will be scored on.

Your assessors will want to see how you gauge the impact on the organization of your
decision, or action, and also the implications this could have on resources and other
projects. They will be looking to see what your initial planning stages consist of and
how you will monitor and measure their success. (The eBook Preparing for an In-tray
exercise has three complete practice exercises.)

If the exercise involves the opportunity to explain your decisions then you must remember
that you are also being assessed in terms of how you handle yourself under interrogation
of your work. The assessor will be observing how you respond to criticism and how easily
you can be persuaded to alter your decision.

The justification provides you with an excellent opportunity to explain why you
prioritized things in the way you did. This may be because of your experience or the type
of environment you currently work in. You will also have the opportunity to bring into the
discussion the knowledge gained from your research into the organization, its ethos and
mission statement.

To summarize, you will be assessed on how persuasive and reasoned your arguments
are, how you respond to criticism of your decisions, and how well you interpreted the
information provided. The employer is looking to assess how flexible you are, how much
conviction you have and how well your management style suits the organization.

Key Points
44 This exercise involves assuming a particular role and working through a pile of
correspondence in your in-tray.
44 This exercise is popular because candidates can see how it relates to the job
they are applying for and therefore they tend to take it seriously.
44 It shows how well you can analyze information, make decisions, organize and
prioritize work, and manage your time.

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

44 Read though each of the in-tray items quickly and sort them into chronological
order.
44 Decide whether some of the later items make earlier ones redundant or cause
complications.
44 Make notes as you go through items, as it can be difficult later on to remember
why you made certain decisions.

Role Play Exercise

This exercise is popular because it gives a real insight into how an individual will interact with
others in situations they have little direct control over. It is an excellent way for a potential
employer to see if you possess the attitudes and behaviors they want in their organization.

Most people find it difficult to act naturally in contrived situations like those used for role
play exercises. Its important to remember that the role play scenario may seem artificial
but it will imitate the types of issues and problems you will encounter in the role. The
more you can overcome the discomfort of being in an unnatural situation the better you
will be able to demonstrate the behaviors required by the role.

gives react in these

Role insight
How certain
How behaviors
Play into You situations Well match role

Typically you will be given an overview of your role and the background circumstances
that have resulted in the scenario you have been asked to act out. Forms and procedures
used will be as realistic as possible without compromising confidentiality.

You will be given an objective to achieve in the time allocated. For example:

Negotiate a significant alteration to a project deliverable

Resolve a customer complaint
Discipline one of your team
Address underperformance with a team member

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

The best use of your preparation time is to use the information contained in the brief,
along with your knowledge of the role and the organizations culture to define the most
effective strategy your should adopt ensuring you attain the desired goal. You need to
quickly identify the key issues presented in the exercise brief and decide the best tactics
at your disposal to attain the objective set. This structured approach enables you to
ascertain potential obstacles that may arise and how best to deal with them.

The more prepared you are for this type of exercise the better youll be able to
demonstrate the behaviors required for the role and show you closely match the role and
the organization. This means researching the organizations culture, leadership styles,
and role competencies so that you know what is required.

Having identified the required competencies you need to break them down into the
expected behaviors. By mapping your own behaviors against these you can assess how
well they match. If this gap is excessive you need to use the competency development
cycle to raise your behaviors to those of the role.

TIME ACTIVELY
to plan how best to LISTEN
use the time allocated to all that you see
and hear

FOCUS
CONTROL
on your assigned
the conversation at
goal in your actions
all times
and words

The most common trap individuals fall into during this exercise is to become sidetracked
from the objective, which results in running out of time. To avoid being ensnared in such
situations you should incorporate the T.A.C.F. philosophy into your strategy and notes
you will use during the exercise.

TIMEplan how best to use the time allocated to achieve the assigned objective.
Take a minute or two to verify your understanding of the situation with the other

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

party (or parties) involved in the role play. Clearly state what you want to achieve
at the end of this discussion.

Do not forget to allocate enough time so that the final few minutes are dedicated
to drawing the discussion to a close. Ideally, all parties will agree on the substance
of what has been said and on any forward actions.

ACTIVELY LISTENto everything the other party says and avoid getting
sidetracked or distracted by the other partys emotions. (Read how to develop
your active listening skills.)

This exercise is designed to test this particular behavior as the situations you are
presented with often arise from poor communications in some previous interaction.

CONTROLensure that you maintain control of the conversation at all times and
keep it focused on attaining the exercise objective. You need to demonstrate your
ability to control and defuse any conflict that may arise.

Remember the other partys reasoning may not be realistic or typical because their
objective is to test how you react and behave in stressful and aggressive situations.

FOCUSkeep the aim of the exercise at the forefront of your words and actions.
Do not end the exercise without having achieved something even if it is only to
arrange another opportunity to continue the discussion.

If you feel the assigned objective is confusing then rephrase it at the outset so that
expectations are clear. This may be your first test to see if you behave appropriately for
the role, i.e. do you behave as a manager or supervisor?

Role Play Recommend a Show reasoned

requires you to: way forward approach

Identify
underlying issue Suggest options Actively listen

Attain assigned
Not over-act Remain sensitive objective

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

The behaviors this exercise assesses are your verbal communication and interpersonal
skills, but role play can also evaluate other less obvious competencies.

The type of examples you could be presented with to demonstrate such behaviors are:

Change Agentyou are responsible for a key strategic project which will
significantly change how your organization and its employees operate. One
member of your project team (Jim) is consistently missing deadlines and this is
beginning to undermine the project.

The task you have been given in the role play is get Jim on board with the project
plan. You need to understand why Jim is having problems and explain how his
missed deadlines are impacting others and the project as a whole. By the end
you must gain his agreement on how best to move forward and how issues the
discussion has raised will be handled.

For this type of scenario it will also be expected that you tackle the issues that Jim
may have with the strategic change that will occur on the completion of the project.

Coach or Mentoryou have inherited an inexperienced team that you need to

develop so that you can properly delegate tasks. Your role play is to brief Sarah,
one of your supervisors, so that she is able to take on the responsibility of briefing
and training her team to perform the assigned task.

This scenario allows you the opportunity to demonstrate your abilities as a coach
or mentor. The style of leadership and skills in communication you adopt in this
exercise will show how well it matches the expectations of the organization. It
also offers you the chance to demonstrate your delegation skills and how you
would develop team members.

Customer Centricevery organization has the awkward customer! Your team has
a longstanding problem customer that they are actively avoiding. Unfortunately
you have received a complaint from the customer about the way Powell handled
their last call.

Your role play task is to decide on an initial tactic to deal with this complaint and
gain Powells support in devising a team strategy for dealing with these types

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

of customer. You need to demonstrate a clear understanding of the customers

business (as far as the brief allows) and demonstrate how you would set the
customers expectations of the future interactions with your team.

In all these scenarios prospective employers are able to gain an excellent sense of
your level of emotional intelligence (EQ). Are you able to demonstrate the right level
of personal and social awareness so that you can be seen as someone who would be
competent in the role?

You need to show that you remain calm and objective during aggressive or stressful
situations. You gain a rapport with the other party demonstrating your ability to understand
the emotions of another person. The concept of EQ was popularized by Daniel Goleman in
his book Emotional IntelligenceWhy It Can Matter More Than IQ (Bloomsbury Publishing,
1996). In it he states that there are three criteria we are judged by in the workplace:

We are being judged by a new yardstick: not just by how smart we are, or
by our training and expertise, but also by how well we handle ourselves and
each other. (Goleman 1996)

As part of your preparation for interview exercises, and especially role play, it is essential
that you know your level of EQ and how it relates to the competencies of the role. To
ensure your success in attaining the role it may require some development of your
emotional intelligence.

Key Points
44 Role play exercises are popular because they give an insight into how you
interact with others in situations you have little direct control over.
44 Common role play scenarios include: handling a difficult customer or
complaint, disciplining or appraising a member of staff, negotiating a contract
or project delivery, and similar situations where conflict is possible.
44 Research the organizations culture and preferred leadership style, as well as
the competencies specified in the job description so that you know what is
required.
44 Use the TACF method: plan how to use the Time, Actively listen to the other
party, maintain Control, and stay Focused on the objective.

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

Group Exercises
This exercise is most popular when the interview process involves several candidates
being present for a whole day, as this offers sufficient time and numbers to make this type
of exercise possible. Group exercises provide the perfect opportunity to assess how you
interact with others, your natural role in a group, and your flexibility when working in a team.

A typical exercise will see you presented with a brief that describes the scenario you
are to work in and the problem or issue that the group needs to resolve. In emotional
intelligence terms, the group exercise enables you to demonstrate your level of self-
management and relationship management at the level needed in the role.

Group Exercises
Be open-minded Actively listen
require you to:

Work well in a Involve whole

group group Be objective

Show initiative Be persuasive Build

relationships

Practicing for this type of interview exercise is difficult. The best way to prepare yourself
is to measure your level of emotional intelligence especially in the areas mentioned
above. You also need to familiarize yourself with the culture of the organization so that
you can illustrate its beliefs and ethos in your actions and words.

There are three basic formats used for group exercises of usually between 48 people.

1. The group is left to its own devices as to how it structures itself and attains its
objective.
2. The group is given a partial structure. This means that each person in the group
is set a specific task to lead.
3. A fixed structure is assigned to the group. Each individual is assigned a specific
role within the group, e.g. chair, sales, finance, etc. These may or may not be
assigned to match your skills. Either way the purpose of the exercise is to assess
how well you work within a group in or out of your field of expertise.

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

Whatever the format, you need to quickly assess the skills and attitudes of the other
participants and decide how best to work with them. If you have been given a role that is
unfamiliar to you, then use the description in your brief to guide your behaviors.

Free style

Format Partial structure

Structured
Interview
Group
Exercises Critical incident

Scenarios Organizational issue

Problem solving & simulation

Remember: whatever role you play or have been assigned it is how you interact and
aid the group in achieving its objective that counts. Always work within your brief and
dont make assumptions or pretend to have more knowledge than the scenario demands.
Dont worry if the scenario appears too complex to be resolved during the time allocated,
the important thing is to be seen to work cooperatively towards a solution.

A common scenario is to present the group with a critical incident that they must respond
to. The incident may be of an operational naturefor example, one of your suppliers has
to recall a batch of its product which is a major component of your own product.

Another option is to give the group a strategic incident. This could be responding to an
article in the press that describes instances where the organization has disregarded the
environmental impact of its actions.

Another example would be that of an organizational issue, for example incorporating a

new acquisition into your organization and how you would plan for the human resource
implications.

The exact nature of a group exercise will reflect the nature of the role, but the behaviors
you need to display are similar whatever scenario you are presented with.

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

Team Playerthis is your only opportunity to show your skills in behaving as part
of a team. You need to demonstrate that you are supportive of others in the group
and motivate them with your enthusiasm to attain the group objective.

You can display this by ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to contribute.
Often the quietest member just needs a small amount of encouragement to add
their contribution to the discussion. Seek out opportunities to show that you are
aware of the activities and contributions of others. This may be simply giving
a smile and saying thats a great idea, does anyone want to add anything? to
encourage others.

Team Player
Ensure all Behaviors
contribute to
discussions
Offer others
encouragement

Support &
Motivate

Actively
Listen

You will be assessed on how well the group interacts and divides up the tasks
required. Your ability to identify others strengths so that tasks can be assigned to
those best suited to accomplish them will also be observed.

A good team player is someone who demonstrates their ability to actively listen
as well as talk, and doing so enables you to summarize things and get the group
back on track when necessary.

Target Driventhis means keeping your focus on achieving the goal and resisting
diversions, using persuasion and tact so that the whole group concentrates on

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

using the facts in the brief to address the issue at hand. The part you play in
ensuring that the group arrives at a consensus will be assessed.

Interpersonal Communicationis an essential skill to demonstrate in this

exercise, as without effective communication the group will achieve very little.
Facilitating effective and speedy decisions is vital because of the limited time
available. Assessing the most appropriate level of language to use or getting
others to define the industry jargon they use can be an important part of this.
This ensures that everyone in the group, regardless of background, has the same
level of understanding of the issues at stake.

A group exercise will usually consist of several negotiations regarding resources,

priorities, or how to approach resolving the issue presented. You should use these
to demonstrate your powers of listening, asking questions, summarizing points of
view, and presenting a course of action.

Offers a
persuasive
case
Negotiates
Aids decision by trading
making concessions
Effective
Uses
Communicator Listens to
questions to content &
clarify data actions
Adapts
language to
group

Try to find common ground, ensuring that nobody is sidelined or becomes overly
confrontational. The most important thing is to direct the decision-making
process in a constructive and objective way. Dont become so focused on winning
your point that you forget to listen and stop being a team player.

Analyticalthis skill is an essential part of any decision making. How well you
identify and interpret the key facts from the data supplied is critical. You will be
assessed on how well you present your arguments. Are they clear and concise?

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

This shows that you take a structured approach to a problem and have the ability
to organize others to attain a goal.

To summarize, employers are looking for management skills, one of which is the ability to
get the best out of your co-workers. Your social skills will be included in the assessment
so listen to other people, be friendly, and participate. Employers dont usually want
people who are withdrawn, or those who are aggressively dominant.

In group exercises try to forget the assessors; give your attention to the task and the
group. You will be assessed on the quality of your contribution and how you relate to the
other participants.

Key Points
44 Group exercises provide the perfect opportunity to assess how you interact
with others, your natural role in a group, and your flexibility when working in
a team.
44 The majority of group exercises are done with a group size of 48 people as
this will give everyone the opportunity to contribute.
44 Typically, you will be given a problem or scenario which requires a collective
decision to be taken.
44 The type of scenario used in group exercises varies from physical problems
for example, how to build a bridge over a stream using materials providedto
purely theoretical problems that can be solved by discussion.
44 This is usually presented in the form of a brief, which also includes a strict
time limit after which the result of the discussion will need to be conveyed to
the assessors.
44 Many scenarios are too complex to be solved within the timeframe allowed
for the exercise.
44 Dont be put off by thiswhat you are being assessed on is how you behave
within the group.

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

Presentation Exercises
Presentations give you the perfect opportunity to show that you can get your message
across in a concise and coherent way. It also allows you to show your ability to handle a
question and answer (Q&A) session.

Presentations
You can get You can
provide your message handle Q&As
the perfect across in a with tact &
opportunity to concise & empathy
coherent way
show:

An interview exercise gives you the greatest level of control over your behaviors,
providing you with a golden opportunity to stand out from the crowd. So before you get
to the interview you should make sure that your abilities to plan, prepare, and deliver a
presentation are the best they can be.

The most obvious competency that you are being asked to demonstrate is interpersonal
communication, especially your ability to communicate a message in a clear and
persuasive way. This covers three separate areas:

1. How you organize the material.

2. How you actually present it.
3. How you handle and answer questions.

However, there are two other areas that are often tested implicitly during the presentation
exercise. These are:

Enthusiasm for the Role

Do you sound as though you really want to be there?

This aspect of job selection is often overlooked by candidates but most employers want
someone who has a genuine enthusiasm for what they do. You need to deliver your
presentation with a certain amount of passiondont go over the top but you must engage
the audience of assessors. They may be listening to a whole series of presentations on
the same or similar topics so dont underestimate how much energy you need to put in if
you are going to capture and hold their attention.

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

Organizational/Strategic Interpretation
Try to demonstrate that you can add value beyond that which the employer expects from
the role.

This is easier in some presentations than others; it depends on the topic youre given, but
it is often this added value that marks out the successful candidates.

Not everyone is a natural presenter, but there are ways you can make the best of your
own individuality and play to your strengths. If you want to read more on the topic of
presentations then our trilogy of eBooks described below offer you practical advice.

Planning a Presentationdescribes a simple four-step process to adopt when

planning a presentation. This enables you, even with minimal time, to give a
strong and persuasive performance to any audience.
Preparing a Presentationfollowing on from Planning a Presentation this eBook
outlines how to take your plan and create a presentation that is based on your
aim and audience. It helps you define a key message statement and identify the
key points you want your audience to take on board.
Delivering a Presentationis the final of these three presentation eBooks and
explains how to keep your audience engaged whilst you deliver your presentation
and how best to organize the material to suit your audience.

Presentation
As a Group Examples

Impromptu Career Path

Planned

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

There are several ways presentations can form part of an interview exercise:

Each candidate is given a topic to present in a predefined timeframe. This may or

may not be related to the role or organization. You will be told what facilities are
available to you, e.g. PC, Mac, flipchart, overhead, etc.
Within a group exercise. This may be on your own or as part of a group.
You are asked at some point in the interview process to provide a verbal account
of your career path. This could be the most important presentation you give and
you need to leave your audience with the view that you are the one for the role.
Impromptu presentations are often a favorite. You will only have a few minutes to
think about how to present the topic you have been given.

Whatever type of presentation you are faced with you need to demonstrate your
enthusiasm for the role. You can achieve this by being enthusiastic in your delivery and
showing that that you really want to be there and that you believe what you have to say
is important.

The behaviors you need to demonstrate will reflect your level of planning and preparation
as well as how you actually present your material. A significant element you must display
is the depth and quality of your research. This is made easier with the Internet but be
mindful to check that the information you have is up to date and accurate.

Any argument you present must be done in a persuasive manner. Be aware of how your
tone of voice and pace of delivery affect how successful you are in doing this. The extent
of your success in this will reflect on how well you have planned putting your message
and key points across to your audience.

It is essential that you make effective use of the time available to you and avoid getting
sidetracked by a question. Remember this may only be asked to see how you handle
interruptions. It also shows how confident you are with your topic and how you assert
control during the presentation.

Include time in your preparation to anticipate the types of questions you could be asked.
Dont be unwilling to ask for clarification when you are not clear about what is being
asked and always be honestif you dont know, say so.

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

Maximize your Q&A Session

Listen to whole question

Repeat or rephrase the question

Check your explanation

answered the question

There are a few ways to keep your focus throughout the Q&A session and to ensure that
you answer the question that was asked.

Listen to the whole question. Do not interrupt until the person asking the question
gives you the cue to reply.
Repeat or rephrase the question as appropriate so that not only you, but the rest
of the audience are clear what was asked.
Check after your explanation that the question was answered to their satisfaction.
Make sure that you give everyone the opportunity to ask questions.

If you can see there are more questions than you have time for then ask these individuals
what topic their question relates to. This enables you to group the question by topic and
avoid unnecessary repetition in this session.

Key Points
44 The assessors will be listening to a whole series of presentations on the same
or similar topics so dont underestimate how much energy you need to put in
if you are going to hold their attention.
44 Try to demonstrate that you can add value beyond that which the employer
expects from the role.
44 Find an efficient method for preparing presentations and practice it.

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

Handling the Media Exercise

If you are seeking a senior management position or directorship then it is a good idea to
familiarize yourself with this exercise. You can view it as a unique role play designed to
assess how well you perform with the press.

For the majority of Media Interview exercises the behaviors you need to show are:

Excellent Verbal Communications

Awareness of Corporate Strategies
Ability to Manage Stakeholder Expectations
Confident Decision Making
Leadership
Evaluation & Analysis

Interaction with the press and acting as a spokesperson for your organization is most
likely to be stated in your job specification, but be aware of subtle inferences that you
may have to perform in this activity. The more senior your position within an organization,
the more likely you are to have some dealings with the press.

For example, you may be seeking a role as Finance Director and think that media
interaction doesnt apply to you, but consider who the press may call to ask about the
latest annual report. You could find yourself acting as the organizations spokesperson,
even if only rarely.

Most Likely Poor Damage

After a Staff Plant to
Media merger layoffs closure financial
results environment
Scenarios

This exercise is really a specialized role play that assesses how well you deal with and
react to being interviewed by a journalist. By reading annual reports and copies of press
releases you can gain an appreciation of an organizations stance when communicating
with the press. Part of your preparation needs to take into account how someone in your
role would be called upon to express the corporate opinion.

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

There are a wide variety of ways you can familiarize yourself with the ethos and culture of
an organizations media voice. These include looking at the internally produced material
and external sources of information so that you have a balanced impression of how the
organization wants to be seen and how others see it.

Internal sources involve looking at the organizations website, annual reports, current
press releases, and the resulting coverage. If you have sufficient time you may even
want to contact the organizations Public Relations (PR) agency to get a more in-depth
view and learn its main PR focus. In some situations it is a member of the PR agency
that acts as the journalist so they may be reluctant to answer your questions, but it will
demonstrate initiative.

External sources require you to look at the industry press and editorials comparing the
media coverage of the organization with that of its main competitors. It will also help you
to see the spin journalists have put on the PR messages of the organization and forewarn
you of potential traps a journalist may present to you. It also helps you substantiate your
own impression of the organization and compare it with others in its industry sector.

Handling the Media

Interview Exercises

Internal External

Annual Report Industry Press

& Accounts

Press Releases Editorial

Website Competitors

The brief you will be supplied with prior to taking part in this exercise will guide you
regarding the corporate stance on the issues the interview is concerned with. It will
provide you with sufficient background information for you to be able to communicate

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

appropriately with the journalist. This interview may take place over the phone as this is
the usual method of contact used by journalists.

It is your behavior and reactions that are being assessed, not how well you understand
the situation you are dealing with in the exercise, but it will have a strong correlation to
the activities expected of someone in the role. The final aspect of this exercise may be
a mock-up of what the journalist wrote following your conversation, which you can then
comment on. Be honest in your reflections and dont take the resulting article to heart
because how you react to such feedback is what is being assessed.

A good and quick way to help you prepare for this exercise is to ask yourself three simple
questions. In doing so you will highlight the likely areas of contention and risk you need
to guard against and how you too can steer the thread of the conversation to portray the
messages you and the organization want.

1. What three things would your organization not want you to be asked
about?
2. How could a journalist steer the conversation into a danger zone? For
example, as the main employer in this district what are you doing to
safeguard the local community in light of your announcement to close
this plant?
3. How can you bring your organizations key message into your replies?

The main behavior you need to exhibit during this exercise is excellent communication
skills, which includes active listening. You need to display confidence in the way you
handle the situation and be precise in what you say. Dont get drawn into saying
something that can be misconstrued or misleading. You will be assessed on how you
manage stakeholder and corporate expectations, as well as how you interpret them in
relation to the topic of the media interview.

Those who perform best in media conversations always give consistent messages to
the journalist and have prepared themselves well in terms of understanding the culture,
ethos, and public voice of the organization. Dont forget to focus on your delivery of the
messages and try to avoid inappropriate emotions creeping into your tone of voice. This
is especially important if the media handling exercise is performed face to face because
the journalist can assess how well your nonverbal and verbal signals match.

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

Key Points
44 Media interviews are a specialized role play that assesses how well you deal
with being interviewed by a journalist.
44 If you are seeking a senior management position or directorship then you
should familiarize yourself with this exercise.
44 Find and read any press releases and any resulting coverage so you can see
how the press views the organization.
44 Try to speak to the organizations Public Relations (PR) agency account
manager who should be able to provide you with a Notes to Editors, which
lists key achievements, strategic objectives, and target press.

Summary
Whatever interview exercises you take part in as part of a recruitment or promotion
process your preparation plays a key role in your success. You need to understand the
competencies required for the role and ensure that you portray this at the level required.
When taking part in interview exercises there are two things critical to you attaining a
high score.

Firstly, read and evaluate the information contained in the brief so you clearly
understand your role in the exercise.

Secondly, make clear and concise notes using a consistent method for all
exercises to ensure you maximize your efficiency.

Working methodically through the exercise information explains your exact role and
describes the parameters of the situation it presents. For exercises such as in-tray,
critical incident, or media interview you may want to create additional information that
gives you an overview of the timeline of events.

This will help you understand the implications potential decisions could have on the
outcome of the situation. It is extremely important that you work within the parameters
outlined in your instructions and overview information. Do not make assumptions or
read more into an item than actually exists.

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

You are being assessed on your ability to evaluate the data you are given as well as how
appropriate your decisions are given this knowledge. This might mean that selecting a
None of the above or, Id delay my decision till I had more time / information is the most
appropriate answer considering what you know.

There are certain items you should take along to interview exercises so that your
preparation and exercise time is as effective as possible.

Calculator (if allowed)

Colored pens, pencils, and highlighters
Post-it notes, scrap paper, and eraser
Geometry set (if required for role)

The intensity of these types of exercises often means that it is extremely difficult to
complete the whole exercise. This is because you can be assessed on how you respond
to such circumstances! But your goal should always be to complete it all.

By practicing interview exercises prior to taking part you will become familiar with the
competencies each one requires you to display. You will also become conscious of any
behaviors you need to alter or acquire to ensure you behave at the correct level for the
role. The ultimate bonus of preparing thoroughly is that you will greatly improve your
overall score and your chances of success.

The other eBooks available in this skill set from www.free-management-ebooks.com

are:

Management Assessment
Interview Preparation
Answering Interview Questions
Interview Exercises
Preparing for Aptitude Tests
Preparing for Personality Tests

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

Other Free Resources

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 Preparing for Interview Exercises

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Goleman, D. (2007) Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships, Arrow.

Goleman, D. and Dalai Lama XIV (2004) Destructive Emotions and How We Can Overcome
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Innes, J. (2012) The Interview Question & Answer Book: Your Definitive Guide to the Best
Answers to Even the Toughest Interview Questions, Pearson Business.

Innes, J. (2nd edn) (2012) The Interview Book: Your Definitive Guide to the Perfect Interview,
Pearson.

Lees, J. (2011) The Interview Expert: How to Get the Job You Want, Pearson Business.

Malthouse, R. and Roffey-Barentsen, J. (2012) Interview Exercises for the Police Recruit
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Malthouse, R., Roffey-Barentsen, J., and Kennard, P. (2009) Interactive Exercises for
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Meah, M. (2011) Competency Questions Made Easy,Sapere Media.

Povah, N. and Povah, L. (UK edn) (2009) Succeeding at Assessment Centres For Dummies,
John Wiley & Sons.

Taylor, D. (2010) Now Youve Been Shortlisted: Your Step-by-step Guide to Being Successful
at Interviews and Assessment Centres, Harriman Business Essentials.

Tolley, H. and Wood, R. (3rd edn) (2011), How to Succeed at an Assessment Centre:
Essential Preparation for Psychometric Tests, Group and Role-play Exercises, Panel Interviews
and Presentations (Testing Series),Kogan Page.

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